The present disclosure relates to an assembly for driving an auger that is mounted inside a hopper used with a beverage maker to produce beverages, such as beverages made by mixing powdered concentrate with water.
An auger rotates inside the hopper to controllably advance the powdered beverage product towards an outlet opening for dispensing into a mixing chamber where it is mixed with water to form a beverage. The auger is typically driven by an external motor assembly that communicates with a shaft axially connected to the auger that extends outside the hopper. The shaft must be aligned properly with the motor assembly in order for the motor assembly to engage to shaft and drive the auger. Hoppers are routinely removed from the beverage maker to refill powdered beverage making product, for maintenance, cleaning, and other purposes. Typically, this is done by non-technical operators, such as convenience mart clerks or fast food workers. Such operators may not properly replace the hopper after removal. Misalignment of the hopper may cause damage to the interface between the motor and hopper. It is desirable to have a fast, simple method to realign the shaft and motor assembly when the hopper is being replaced.
Briefly, in accordance with the foregoing, disclosed is a self-aligning auger drive assembly. The assembly includes an auger for use inside the hopper. The auger has a shaft extending from the auger externally of the hopper. A coupling is associated with the shaft, the coupling being adapted to mate with a driver of a beverage maker's motor drive assembly. A sensor may be included to only allow operation of the beverage maker when the hopper is in position and/or when product remains in the hopper. In use, the hopper is positioned so that the coupling contacts the driver or the hopper is sensed to be in position. If the driver fails to align with the coupling during initial positioning, the driver may be rotated until the driver and coupling do align. A compression spring along the shaft causes the coupling to extend outwardly to mate with the driver during this alignment rotation which prevents stress to the auger drive assembly components.
Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of drawings exemplifying the best mode as presently perceived.